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The Adventure Begins
In the land of Ravengro, a woman mourns the loss of her father. The one person who has always been there for her. While she has people she can rely on in Ravengro, she has no one that she can depend on for company and protection while she decides what to do after her father's death. Many mourners came from around all parts of Ravengro to pay their respects and with them came a band of adventurers who once knew the late Petros Lorrimor. This motley crew was asked to "bear the pauls" for her father, walk him to his grave after the funeral was over. The band agreed and some changes needed to be made to account for height, but this was agreed to. The band of adventures accompanied Kendra Lorrimor along with Father Grimmsby to the church of Bahamut where the funeral was to take place. Each of the band of the adventure's where allowed to stand and say something about the dearly departed. While most attendants were expecting to hear something pleasant about the man, and many did, a lot of off-hand remarks where also slid in and a nod to Pelor. Father Grimmsby was not as openly upset as would have been expected and poor Kendra didn't know how to take it. Afterwards, the party started to escort Professor Petros Lorrimor to his final resting place but were interrupted by Gibs Hephenus and a small group of thugs. All four men where heavily drunk and easily mollified with Kendra flying into a rage backed up by Jackson, the half Orc pugilist. Once he Petros was laid to rest, they returned to Kendra's home and wait for Councilman Vashian Hearthmount to read his last will and testament. They were also waiting on an unknown person to show up for the reading as well. Once the Goliath appeared after having to defend a championship belt in Ankapor and met with everyone else, the Counsilman arrived. He showed everyone in the room the scroll case and the scroll that was sealed with wax and the intials PL on the wax. It was still sealed and not tampered with. He then read out the following: : “I, Petros Lorrimor, being of sound mind, do hereby commit to this parchment my last will and testament. Let it be known that, with the exception of the specific details below, I leave my home and personal belongings entire to my daughter Kendra. Use them or sell them as you see fit, my child. : “Yet beyond the bequeathing of my personal effects, this document must serve other needs. I have arranged for the reading of this document to be delayed until all principals can be in attendance, for I have more than mere inheritance to apportion. I have two final ''favors'' to ask. : “To my old friends, I hate to impose upon you all, but there are few others who are capable of appreciating the true significance of what it is I have to ask. As some of you know, I have devoted many of my studies to all manner of evil, that I might know the enemy and inform those better positioned to stand against it. For knowledge of one’s enemy is the surest path to victory over its plans. : “And so, over the course of my lifetime, I have seen fit to acquire a significant collection of valuable but dangerous tomes, any one of which in the wrong circumstances could have led to an awkward legal situation. While the majority of these tomes remain safe under lock and key at the Lepidstadt University, I fear that a few I have borrowed remain in a trunk in my Ravengro home. While invaluable for my work in life, in death, I would prefer not to burden my daughter with the darker side of my profession, or worse still, the danger of possessing these tomes herself. As such, I am entrusting my chest of tomes to you, posthumously. I ask that you please deliver the collection to my colleagues at the University of Lepidstadt, who will put them to good use for the betterment of the cause. : “Yet before you leave for Lepidstadt, there is the matter of another favor—please delay your journey one month and spend that period of time here in Ravengro to ensure that my daughter is safe and sound. She has no one to count on now that I am gone, and if you would aid her in setting things in order for whatever she desires over the course of this month, you would have my eternal gratitude. From my savings, I have also willed to each of you a sum of one hundred platinum coins. For safekeeping, I have left these funds with Embreth Daramid, one of my most trusted friends in Lepidstadt—she has been instructed to issue this payment upon the safe delivery of the borrowed tomes no sooner than one month after the date of the reading of this will. : “I, Petros Lorrimor, hereby sign this will in Ravengro on this first day of Calistril, in the year 4012.” After the will was read the Councilman left and there was some descent in the home. Mostly from Corrin Berryfell. He had come hoping to collect on an outstanding debt but instead had a job wating for him. He was, to say the least, not very happy. After a small discussion, they all agreed and ended up staying. Willow took Petros journal, Elijah took On Verfied Madness ''and the others decided to bed down for the night. That was until they heard a knock on the door. It woke most in the house, aside from Kendra who slept soundly. Corrin yelled from his room for them to turn whomever it was away and the Goliath named Zavark answered. What awaited on the other side of the door was not a neighbour or someone out late, paying their condolences. Zavark was face, well, above face with a zombie. At first, none of the party knew what it was but Willow and Albanus knew this was an undead creature and to kill it fast. Corrin came down to see the party beating on something and was taken aback by it, thinking that even though this person had disturbed them late at night, this was no way to treat them. Until he saw it was an undead entity. The party dispatched it before the zombie could get a hit off, with Willow jumping up and lobbing its head off. Zavark and Albanus decided to stash it's once again dead corpse in a ditch under some refuse when Albanus was hit with an overwhelming feeling of nausea followed by the worlds worse migraine. After some thinking and expending some of his divine energy he found the source of the foul feeling was that there was very strong necromancy involved with this creatures reanimation. After discussing that with the party Willow shared what was of note in Petros' journal. : '''Ten Years Ago:' : The Whispering Way is more than just a cabal of necromancers. I see that now. Undeath is their fountain of youth. Uncovering their motivation does not place me at ease as I thought it might. Their desire to be eternal simply makes them more dangerous. : Two Months Ago: : It is as I had feared. The Way is interested in something here in Ravengro. But what could it be? : One Month Ago: : Whatever the Way seeks, I am now convinced their goal is connected to Harrowstone. In retrospect, I suppose it all makes sense—the stories they tell about the ruins in town are certainly chilling enough. It may be time to investigate the ruins, but with everyone in town already being so worked up about them, I’d rather not let the others know about my curiosity—there’s plenty of folks hereabouts who already think I’m a demonologist or a witch or something. Ignorant fools. : Twenty Days Ago: : It is confirmed. The Way seems quite interested in something—no, strike that—someone who was held in Harrowstone. But who, specifically, is the Way after? I need a list of everyone who died the night of the fire. Everyone. The Temple of Pharasma must have such a list. : Eighteen Days Ago: : I see now just how ill prepared I was when I last set out for the Harrowstone. I am lucky to have returned at all. The ghosts, if indeed they were ghosts (for I did not find it prudent to investigate further) prevented me from transcribing the strange symbols I found etched along the foundation—hopefully on my next visit I will be more prepared. Thankfully, the necessary tools to defend against spirits are already here in Ravengro. I know that the church of Pharasma used to store them in a false crypt in the Restlands at the intersection between Eversleep and the Black Path. I am not certain if the current clergy even know of what their predecessors have hidden down below. If my luck holds, I should be able to slip in and out with a few borrowed items. : Seventeen Days Ago: : Tomorrow evening I return to the prison. It is imperative the Way does not finish. My caution has already cost me too much time. I am not sure what will happen if I am too late, but if my theory is right, the entire town could be at risk. I don’t have time to update my will, so I’ll leave this in the chest where it’ll be sure to be found, should the worst come to pass. After this was read they decided to bed down for the rest of the night and check out the prison in daylight. Elijah had some questions for Kendra in the morning. Everyone went to bed in a guest room aside from Zavark and Jackson, both slept in the receiving room that was closest to the front door. Jackson slept in a comfortable chair that faced the door, with his ten pounds of pocket shrimp while Zavark slept on the floor where a small orange kitten found him and decided his chest was a good place to sleep for the evening.